Betty Jean (BeJe)
Clark was born on April 18, 1920 to the Reverend Raymond and Mary Walker in Kansas City, Kansas.
After graduating from high school in Fort Hays, Kansas she began her undergraduate studies at Fort Hays
State College and continued through the University
of Utah in Salt
Lake City and the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California,
where she received her degree in religious education. Her graduate work was
done at the Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois.

With her strong religious background Clark
spent much of her early career working with the Methodist Church as the
Director of Student Programs at the Wesley Foundation in Ames, Iowa from 1948
to 1951, and as the Director of Christian Education and financial secretary at
the United Methodist Church in Mason City, Iowa, from 1963 to 1975.

Clark is also a published writer,
beginning in 1935 in the Hays Daily News, and continuing with the column
"Beje's Barrel," in the Ames Daily
Tribune from 1947 to 1948 and the Old Trails Echo (in Centerville,
Indiana) in 1953. She also compiled the book Nearer to Thee, a
compilation of scriptures for daily meditation, with her sister Harriet Ann Daffron in 1956 and again in 1971. In addition, Beje edited Christian periodicals such as the Periodical
Key for the Busy Methodist, which she began as an index of all Methodist
publication and is now produced by the Methodist Publishing House and called
the Periodical Index.

Clark
spent fourteen years as a Republican in the Iowa House of Representatives after
she was elected in 1976. While a representative she served on numerous
committees, including fourteen years on the Judiciary Committee and the Human
Resources Committee, which she chaired for four years. She wrote much of the
legislation establishing the Prisoner Employment Program in 1978 and pioneered
the Living Will legislation. In addition, from 1978 to 1989 Clark hosted high
school students with the "Teen-Tern" program where students spent a
week in Des Moines learning about how Iowa government works.
Some of her other programs involved finding funding for services for abused
children and establishing special employment training for women in prison.

In 1990 Clark
retired from the House. On November first of that year she was injured in a car
accident, and has been in a wheelchair since then. Clark resides in Rockwell,
Iowa with her husband and has continued her public service with activities such
as the radio show "Citizen Power," attending conferences on criminal
justice and remaining active in organizations such as CURE (Citizens United for
the Rehabilitation of Errants), Justice Fellowship
and the Advisory Council on Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning (as one of
two public citizens).

Scope and Content Note

The Betty Jean Clark papers date from 1935
to 1994 and measure 1.8 linear feet. The papers are arranged in four series: Biographical
Information, Writing, Presentations and Legislature. The collection documents a
woman's role in the legislature and the importance of the church in Clark's life.

The Biographical information
(1989?-1994) series contains essays written about Clark, one of which includes
a concise, detailed list of her family, education, activities, awards and
employment history. She is also highlighted in a compilation of
"non-traditional careers" entitled Dare to Be Different. In addition
there are newspaper articles about Clark's
retirement from the Iowa House of Representatives in 1990 and her paralyzing
car accident that year. Finally, there are newspaper articles about Clark's political activities since her retirement.

The Writing (1935-1991) series
consists of publications, essays and church newsletters written and edited by Clark, most of which is from 1935 to 1976, before her
legislative career. In this series is a copy of the book Nearer to Thee and a
number of essays written for school and church, emphasizing religion, education
and the "Status of Women." In addition there are two of Clark's bound journals with handwritten drafts of her
news columns from 1947 to 1961.

The Presentations (1948-1993)
series is divided into two categories, Radio and Speeches. The Radiosubseriesincludes scripts from
broadcasts which discussed a range of topics from politics and democracy to
love. The Speeches included were given both publicly, such as at a Lions
Club meeting or high school graduation, and in the House of Representatives
concerning debates on bills such as the lottery and abortion. On a lighter
note, poems and cartoons which were passed around the office are also included.
Much of this section includes handwritten accounts by Clark.
Audiocassettes are also included from a Governor's Day program, a speech given
to a high school class, and radio programs.

The Iowa Legislature series
(1976-1994) consists of a number of subseries, mostly
involving newspapers (with campaign ads and other articles), but also includes
awards and recognition, inmate correspondence, and details from her retirement.
Articles on the "natural death" bill (1978, similar to the 1983
"right to die" bill), a state-run lottery, the Door Opener Program
for women, and self-generated press which detail the weekly issues in the
house, are some of the items found here. In addition, articles and letters
about the Teen-Tern program along with photographs of some of the participants
are included.